The Lesson
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
MY cot was down by a cypress grove,
And I sat by my window the whole night long,
And heard well up from the deep dark wood
A mocking-bird's passionate song.
And I thought of myself so sad and lone,
And my life's cold winter that knew no spring;
Of my mind so weary and sick and wild,
Of my heart too sad to sing.
But e'en as I listened the mock-bird's song,
A thought stole into my saddened heart,
And I said, 'I can cheer some other soul
By a carol's simple art.'
For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives
Come songs that brim with joy and light,
As out of the gloom of the cypress grove
The mocking-bird sings at night.
So I sang a lay for a brother's ear
In a strain to soothe his bleeding heart,
And he smiled at the sound of my voice and lyre,
Though mine was a feeble art.
But at his smile I smiled in turn,
And into my soul there came a ray:
In trying to soothe another's woes
Mine own had passed away.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 159 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCBDEFEBGHGIJAJKGLGMNON |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 899 |
Words | 189 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
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"The Lesson" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/28909/the-lesson>.
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